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Hoeven Announces Senate Passage Of Two Important Indian Bills; Legislation Headed to the President

Nov 27, 2018

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, announced Senate passage of H.R. 5317 and H.R. 1074. Both bills will now head to President Trump for his signature.

Repeals an 1834 law that prohibits the establishment of a facility on Indian land to make distilled liquors.

Stipulates that the repeal of the law would not have any effect on federal or state taxation, nor would it have an effect on a state’s authority to regulate alcohol within its borders.

“This legislation repeals an outdated law that is not compatible with a modern policy of promoting tribal self-determination,” said Hoeven. “Further, this legislation helps Tribes diversify economically by empowering them to construct and operate distilleries on their land, with net profits going back to the Tribes.”

H.R. 5317 was introduced by Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler on March 15, 2018. It passed the House of Representatives on September 12, 2018. It will now go to the President to be signed into law.

H.R. 1074 repeals a federal statute which had conferred criminal jurisdiction upon the State of Iowa over offenses committed by or against Indians on the Sac and Fox Indian Reservation.

“H.R. 1074 will bring clarity and finality to the jurisdictional confusion affecting the Sac and Fox Indian Reservation,” said Hoeven. “Both the State of Iowa and the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa agree that this legislation is necessary to ensure that jurisdictional matters will no longer detract from their ultimate goal of preventing crime and holding criminals accountable for their actions.”

H.R. 1074 was introduced by Congressman Rod Blum (R-IA-1) on February 15, 2017. It passed the House of Representatives on November 1, 2017. It will now go to the President to be signed into law.